April 29, 2021
Coney Island welcomes its first tourists
Anyone visiting Coney Island in New York back in 1903 had their pick of ways to spend the day. It was a place teeming with energy and excitement where anyone could take in their share of entertainment, whether they were looking to take in a show, go on an early amusement park ride, or just take a stroll. The Bowery at Coney Island overlooked a set of beaches that offered a chance to soak up the sun after a long day of fun.
Coney Island didn't become the go-to destination for New Yorkers until early in the 19th century when a local entrepreneur constructed a bridge to the small refuge. Once the possibility for escape was available, Manhattanites made their way to this new destination to kick up their heels and have a little fun.
Long before Coney Island was the playground of New Yorkers, it was inhabited by the Lenape Tribe who referred to the area as Narrioch. In the 1500s, European explorers came to the island, but it wasn't until 1644 that the island became a to-do among colonists. It spent the next 150 or so years as a place for cattle to graze. A series of land disputes kept the island from being developed, but after the Gravesend and Coney Island Road and Bridge Company built the first bridge from the mainland to Coney Island there was an influx of travelers.
Everyone was on top of one another in 19th century New York City. The tantalizing possibility of escape, even to a place a few miles away, caused wealthy New Yorkers to jump at the chance to travel to Coney Island. In the 1830s and '40s an influx of city-dwellers took carriage and steamships to the area where they hung out on the beach. It was clear that anyone who set up a business on the island would make a killing.
A place to stay
The first hotels on Coney Island started going up in the late 1860s, with massive establishments taking up space on Brighton and Manhattan Beach. Initially only the members of the upper-crust traveled to Coney Island, but by the 1870s there were visitors from across the social strata. As the 20th century approached, business owners altered Coney Island from a resort for New York's elite into a place that welcomed day trippers no matter how much cash was in their wallet.
Anyone making their way to the Bowery at Coney Island at the turn of the century was welcomed with open arms by the small but tightly packed entertainment area that hosted games, saloons, and honky tonks featuring solo pianists and a saucy burlesque singer. This wasn't the kind of place where you'd want to bring the family for a weekend.
Visitors to this part of Coney Island came to let down their hair and empty their pockets of any extra cash that was weighing them down. At the time, Coney Island served the same function that Las Vegas would in the 1960s. That is to say that what happened at Coney Island stayed at Coney Island.
A wild ride
Coney Island is known as the roller coaster capital of New York, or at least it was in the middle of the 20th century. At the tail end of the 19th century it was just building its reputation. The earliest roller coaster on the island was the Switchback Railway, which was set up at West 10th Street in 1884. This early roller coaster was just down the street from the Elephantine Colossus, a seven-story building that had everything from a brothel, to a saloon, and a few hotel rooms.
Construction of rides similar to the Switchback ramped up in the 1890s with three amusement parks opening between 1895 and 1902. The first park to actually charge was Sea Lion Park, a large amusement park that featured rides for people of all ages. This was the beginning of the totally adult world of Coney Island becoming a more family friendly area, at least for a while.
A day at Coney Island
By the early 20th century New Yorkers were ready to have a good time. Upon arrival as Coney Island visitors were able to stop thinking about their life in the city and push through the crowds to take in the shows on offer, ride the rides, or just enjoy some saltwater taffy.
Even though Coney Island was destroyed by fire multiple times throughout the end of the 1800s and even into the 1900s, it never stopped being a place that people wanted to spend their summers and weekends. In just a few decades Coney Island went from being an escape for New York's wealthy set to a place where people from across the Big Apple were able to catch some rays and get into trouble (if that's what they wanted to do) with their friends and family.
The photo at the top of this story was colorized by Marina Amaral, a digital colorist who has published two books, The Color of Time and The World Aflame. See more of her colorized photos and learn about her other projects at marinamaral.com.